Groh Runs 'Tight Ship'

David Teel

"We say this to the team," Groh said Sunday. "If a player does anything that brings discredit on himself, his team, his school, his family then we will respond to that in whatever fashion we think is necessary.

"That means there's going to be a response."

Suffice to say, Groh spent much of this offseason responding.

No fewer than eight of his University of Virginia football players, most of them front-liners, encountered academic or legal issues.

Now before proceeding, let's get one thing straight: The Cavaliers are not unique.

This is not the drug trafficking scandal that rocked the program in the mid-80s, or the rash of arrests that fouled Virginia Tech in the mid-90s. But Groh's handling of the tempest is revealing and encouraging.

From all indications, he did not, and does not, excuse his players' missteps.

While administrators ruled on academic cases, Groh earlier this month booted Mike Brown for repeated arrests. In previous years, he sent Ahmad Brooks, J'Courtney Williams and Vince Redd packing.

Good for Groh. Time demands notwithstanding, college athletes are livin' large, and expecting them to attend class, avoid YouTube hijinx and dodge the cop shop is not unreasonable.

Recently, police cited three Cavaliers for misdemeanors related to alcohol. One, offensive tackle Will Barker, is a returning starter. Another, quarterback Peter Lalich, is competing for a first-team job.

"There's certain things that we weren't pleased with and we've dealt with them internally," Groh said last week, "but, frankly, there are plenty of people out there who want to stir it up. I don't necessarily need to contribute to that."

Chief among those "people" are keyboard jockeys like me. So Sunday at the team's media day I raised the subject.

Now Groh wasn't about to say if he ran the offenders 'til they puked, demoted them on the depth chart or limited them to one trip through the Ben & Jerry's buffet. But he did discuss his philosophy.

"Every case is different," Groh said. "Two people if they do the same thing and one has built up 31/2 years of goodwill and somebody else ... it's a repeat, then the response is different."

Fair enough.

What about players policing themselves?

"If you are a good teammate, then you are responsible for your teammate's behavior," Groh said. "There's a line in the Bible, 'Am I my brother's keeper?' Yes you are.

"If this guy has an academic issue and he's your roommate and he's not attending class, you're culpable for that fact."

Hear, hear!

But also realize that, by extension, the coaching staff is accountable, too. After 41 years in the profession, the last seven-plus at his alma mater, Groh understands as much.

He also has concluded that a coach occasionally needs to consult team leaders on disciplinary matters.

"Sometimes we've taken quite a bit of input from what the team thought or what the leadership element of the team thought," Groh said. "Sometimes it's just been my decision on what to do. ...

"Those things, the dynamic of a team, keeping your team together and the communication that's necessary, handling those things are as important as the schemes you draw up in the playbooks."

Groh's schemes haven't produced as many victories as some would prefer - the Cavaliers are 51-37 since his arrival. But aside from one verbal gaffe regarding the academic shortcomings of his 2006 recruiting class, he has been refreshingly strict and keenly aware of UVa's expectations.

"He sticks to his word," Barker said. "He runs a tight ship. Groh treats everyone the same way. Everyone is equal in his eyes."

Barker, 21, would not discuss his punishment or the incident - he allegedly swiped beer from a cooler at a local club - that prompted it. But he appeared genuinely contrite.

"There's good knowledge within the players that this is the culture," Groh said. "These are the standards. This is what's acceptable."

David Teel can be reached at 247-4636 or by e-mail at dteel@dailypress.com